The Militant attempts to review recent events in Fallujah as a form
of 'straight news' combined with a flip, and ignorant attitude. It is wrong, as
is Stephen's attempt to justify the same wrong views.
The Militant sees the Resistance to the US occupying forces as "Baathists".
There is little evidence that points to the political proclivities of the
Resistance, except if you take Pentagon at its word, which clearly The Militant
does, as it follows the "facts" of Defense Dept. news briefs as good coin,
never seemingly to actually investigate other news sources, eyewitness and non-
embedded reporters of European and other non-North American reporters. Oh well.
If I'm going to read this sort of "news" I'll read it straight from the Wall
Street Journal or the Financial Times.
Stephen argues that "However, it is a small (but persistent) guerilla campaign
in the *context* of a military defeat - a defeat characterized by large caches
of arms captured, most of the fighters dead or escaped, and a largely destroyed
city. The imperialist advance was not defeated. The US troops did not retreat,
did not turn around and leave - the resistance fighters did. Fallujah was a
victory for imperialism and a loss to the Iraqi working people and humanity."
So, the "victory" of the US was a destroyed city and "hundreds" of fighters
dead. The imperialist 'advance' was not defeated and the resistance fighters
retreated? Exactly, then how is this a victory for the bad guys? The point,
stated over and over again by the US occupying authorities was to "liberate"
Fallujah and "Destroy" the insurgents, establish "Civil authority" and so on.
NONE of this was accomplished as the city is far from "liberated", most
as
in "thousands" of fighters staged a tactical retreat, and attacked US troops in
the rear or other cities, there is no longer a population to effectively rule
over and politically it's been a disaster, with 'elections' now standing a good
chance of being postponed. This is victory?
The Tet offensive in Vietnam was a military defeat across the board for the
NLF. Yet it was a huge political victory for national liberation. The Militant
sees Iraq in the microcosm of Fallujah, and dares not look beyond that city for
clues as to the course of the future, or to judge the true balance of forces
arrayed against imperialist authority. It views "military victory" as the US in
Vietnam viewed "body counts", as statitiscal evidence of their side winning a
non-existent static war. Iraq, like Vietnam, is not static fight, and
eventually, I suppose, The Militant will learn this, along with the
Imperialists, the latter, I see, are learning this faster than the former.
David